A Mariella Parable
by critcrawkett
Summary: This is the story of a woman named Mariella... Follow Mariella as she goes through a dream world, seeing bits and peices of the endings of the Stanley Parable. Every woman in the Stanley Parable is connected. The woman narrator, the woman on the phone, Stanley's wife, and Mariella. Here you will see her journey. You will see the events leading up to Stanley's descent into insanity.


This is the story of a woman named Mariella. Mariella was coming close to an end in college, allowing her to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming an office worker! And to make matters all the better, she was offered 5 new credit cards from differing companies.

Choice. So many choices, equally spectacular, but none irrational, given the five choices. She thought in her head that these choices offered minor differences, but they each opened different possibilities. What possibilities do each of them hold?

What if she chooses all five of them? A peculiar choice, but one that wouldn't be wise, she concluded. However, even though Mariella had decided in her mind that she would surely not do this, in the end, she still chose to take all five of the offers.

How could this be possible? This must be a dream come true! She knew very well that she should use these cards to pay off her student loans. So, she started towards the bank to begin to pay off the debt.

It was midnight, with nothing but street lights to guide her way. There were many cars in sight, some with their lights on, but not a person in sight. There was a yellow line that she followed, which she knew very well would end at the bank. The bank was now in sight.

But wait, despite all of her rational thinking, she decided to do the exact opposite of what her thoughts told her. Mariella entered a shoe shop that was having a "midnight madness" sale. "This place has shoes! I love shoes. Oh my god. Shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping." is what I imagine this blissfully illogical woman thought.

But she didn't stop there. After buying every shoe in this store, equaling out to precisely 2000$, she went to the broom closet in the store and stole everything inside that as well, and put the tools in her already full shopping cart.

If she were caught stealing, this would max out yet another credit card, as she would be fined 2000$ and a jail sentence of 7 and a half days. This meant she would have to work for the entirety of a Wednesday to make up for her missed days.

This now left Mariella with just three unused credit cards left to use, along with all the debt of the previous cards carried with them. So, she thought logically about the situation, and decided she would use the last of the credit cards to pay off her student debt.

However, it was at this very moment Mariella began to realize that she may not be in reality. "Why was I able to get all five of the credit cards," she thought, "and how did I get away with such a crime as stealing utilities in a broom closet?" Then, she noticed more peculiar things. "Why can't I see my legs when I look toward the ground? How come there is a narrator dictating, and saying my thoughts to me? And – come to think of it – why was there a line guiding me directly towards the bank?"

Mariella realized, "This is all too strange. It must be a dream. I suppose I should still enjoy it while I'm still lucid. What a relief this is." So, she began to float. "Amazing! Now I can spend the remaining 6000$ on whatever I want!" She floated over to a used car dealership and bought the most beautiful sports car she's ever seen. But now, she grew worried. She saw so many dark shadowy shapes. "I suppose I should wake up soon", she thought.

So Mariella waited, and waited, and waited. Nothing came. "I should close my eyes, and I will wake up." She closed her eyes, "I want to be back. Back in my dorm room, where I can finally continue my life and become an office worker, pushing buttons like I've always wanted to…

Mariella opened her eyes, but nothing came. She began screaming. "Someone please help! Can anyone hear me!? Can anyone hear my voice!? Please someone anyone. Stanley are you there!? None of this is real, none of this is real!" And then everything went black…

This is the story of a man named Stanley. Stanley heard Mariella babbling nonsense, before Mariella jutted up from her resting position. Mariella found herself back into her dorm room. She must've fallen on the floor, as she was on that surface, rather than in her bed, Stanley concluded.

What a great relief it was for her to be back in reality. Mariella coped with this by finally deciding to accept just one credit card, and by telling Stanley about her dream. Despite Stanley being mute, she always knew he was listening, by his reassuring gestures. (Stanley obnoxiously nodded up, down, and in circles)

"How strange would it be", thought Mariella, "if someone else would have a similar experience to me?" Little did she know that she, in the near future, would find the man she knew so well have just that (a distraction from reality), but this time he would pass out unconscious on a concrete road, never to get up again.


End file.
